We Hike The Olympic Peninsula...

New Format For Hike Routes & Elevations

As of May, 2018 the free service provided by Garmin Inc. to post topo routes and elevations charts was shut down. Since many Ramblers enjoy examining this information for upcoming hikes a new repository was needed and Gaia GPS was selected as a temporary solution. We will use Gaia while we continue to look for someplace else to store and share our hiking profile data. Please tell us what you think of this new format.

On the Gaia route map you'll see a button for Map Layers (see above) which allows you to select various map types and another button with four arrows pointing away from each other (see above). Click that four-arrow button and your map will go to full screen for more detailed viewing. You'll also have an elevation chart to look at although it's cluttered and a STATS table with distance, time on the trail, elevation gain, etc. Notice that if you place your cursor on the elevation chart there will be a corresponding mark on the topo map showing you exactly where that elevation takes place on the trail.

In the upper right-hand corner you'll see an area for hiking notes which will include the actual distance hiked. Many times this is different from the"reported trail distance" in the STATS table. This discrepancy is due to many outdated trail maps not corresponding with what's actually on the ground. Trails move and change and it can take awhile before cartographers revise the maps to indicate the changes. The distance reported in the notes section is based upon actual GPS data.

Another limitation is the Ascent report in the STATS table. It seems to be the highest elevation minus the lowest elevation. It does not take into account all the ups and downs throughout the hike. Please refer to the hiking notes for the total elevation gain when this information is available.

Just above the map on the left you'll see a button called Data with a down arrow. That will let you download the data and use them either in another mapping program or a GPS. With this information you can recreate the hike on your own if you so desire. Click the Data button and you can select the format that works best for you.

Until a permanent solution is selected there will be a limited number of topo routes and elevation charts posted here. It's a time consuming process to get this done and only the next few hikes will be available. Ultimately, all the Ramblers data will be back online.

Topo Map Routes And Elevation Data

To view a topo route and elevation chart just click the name of the route you'd like to see.